MLB Decade in Review

Pitchers and Catchers report tomorrow for 12 teams so I decided to look back on the past 10 years of Major League Baseball. Let me clarify something Franchise of the Decade is the best team throughout the decade while Team of the decade is the best single year team of the entire decade.
Franchise of the Decade: Boston Red Sox- They finish just ahead of the Yankees because both teams won two titles during this decade but it comes down to the most memorable moment of the decade, coming back from 3-0 to beat the Yanks in the 2004 ALCS and then sweeping the Cardinals to win their first World Series in 86 years. Runners Up: 2. Yanks 3. Cards 4. Angels 5. Phillies

Team of the Decade: 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks, what is the old saying in baseball great pitching beats great hitting and this team had great pitching with Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling which would dominante any team's hitting. Throw in the hitting of Luis Gonzalez and Reggie Sanders and you are looking at the best team of the decade. Runners Up: 2004 Sox, 2006 Cards, 2009 Yanks, 2000 Yanks.

Player of the Decade: Albert Pujols 1B Cardinals: An amazing talent who could be on pace to become the greatest player of all time, in his 9 seasons he has hit .334, the highest average of the decade even higher then Ichiro, 366 Home runs and won 3 MVPs and if it were not for Bonds and his steroid use he would have won 7 of 9 MVP's (that is not including the robbery in 2006 when Ryan Howard won it). Throw in 2 world series appearances, 1 title, a rookie of the year, and basically ruining Brad Lidge's career in 2005 he is the clear cut winner and has no attachment to steroids. Runners Up: 2. Jeter 3. Ichiro 4. Santana 5. Halladay.

Manager of the Decade: Tony La Russa (and Dave Duncan) Cardinals He has led the Cardinals to a decade of success despite having pitchers like Kyle Lohse, Joel Pinero, Chris Carpetner (who got cut from the Jays), and many more as well as two tragedies (Darryl Kyle and Josh Hamilton). He won 1 title and is 3rd all time in wins as a manager. Runners Up: 2. Terry Francona 3. Mike Scosia 4. Joe Torre 5. Bobby Cox

Story of the Decade: Steroids- The revelations that stars like Big Mac, Sosa, Clemens, Bonds, Manny, Palmerio, and A-Roid all used steroids have shook MLB to its core bringing the magical summer of 1998 and some of its most hallowed marks into serious doubt. This has ruined baseball for many fans and has made clean players defend themselves daily. Runners up: Yankees vs. Red Sox bidding war, Small Market vs. Big Market, All-star Game, WBC

Moment of the Decade: Red Sox end the curse, this is a moment everyone will remember for what happened in the ALCS when they became the 1st MLB team and 3 Major pro team to come back from 3-0 defecit in the series to beat the Yankees. They also swept a 100 win Cards team to end the curse of the Bambino and win their first title in 86 years. Runners up: Congressional Hearings, Pujols homer off of Lidge, Bonds #73 and #756, Bartman.